More Immigration-Related Covid-19 Inconsistency from the White House
If Biden will use section 212(f) of the INA to keep unvaccinated athletes out, he should use it to secure the border, too
By Andrew R. Arthur on January 9, 2023
A recent post focused on Covid-19 inconsistencies in the administration’s statements in Supreme Court filings in cases involving federal student-loan debt forgiveness on the one hand and CDC orders directing the expulsion of illegal migrants (issued pursuant to Title 42 of the U.S. Code in response to the Covid-19 pandemic) on the other. Another Covid-19 inconsistency has cropped up, as the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) extends a vaccination requirement for travelers to the United States until April 10. That vaccination bar is premised on the president’s authority under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and if Biden’s willing to use it to keep unvaccinated travelers — including world-class athletes — out of the United States, he should use it to secure the border, too.
Supreme Court Arguments. By way of brief review, the administration is attempting to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for those with federal student loans (total price tag: $400 billion), arguing that such “debt relief” is necessitated by the ongoing Covid-19 “national emergency”. That has been challenged in federal court, and the justices will consider the issue on February 28.
At the same time, however, Biden’s DOJ is telling the Supreme Court that CDC should be allowed to end those Title 42 exclusion orders for illegal migrants apprehended at the Southwest border — which were implemented to curb the introduction and spread of Covid-19 — because expulsion under Title 42 is “a public-health measure that all now acknowledge has outlived its public-health justification”.
That case will be heard in February as well, and if the Supreme Court clerk’s office has a sense of irony, arguments will be scheduled for February 28 in that case (Arizona v. Mayorkas) as well.
https://cis.org/Arthur/More-ImmigrationRelated-Covid19-Inconsistency-White-House
